


Everywhere With You

by LaLainaJ



Series: Make Some Noise [108]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ignores The Originals, Mates, Wolfy!Klaus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2018-09-25 10:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9814499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaLainaJ/pseuds/LaLainaJ
Summary: Supremely bored of college life Caroline decides to liven things up on a late night walk, attempting to lure out the creep who's clearly been stalking her. Only, it's not a person who barrels out of the woods but a wolf. A really freaking pushy one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Everywhere With You**

**(Prompt: Klaroline as mates and Caroline questioning Klaus' sanity and/or thinking he was knocked on the head one too many times in the last thousand years for this to even be a possibility. Title from "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Rated T.)**

She stumbles, it's deliberate and maybe _too_ theatrical. Caroline wind mills her arms and totters like the heel's she's wearing are going to be her downfall. They're not – she'd spent much of her early teens prepping for Miss Mystic walking the stairs of her house in a cheap pair of pumps from Payless (getting her mom to buy them had been an _ordeal_ ) with a book on her head – but the creep who's following her has no way of knowing that.

Caroline lets herself crash into a light pole, makes a show of catching her balance, and throws her head back with a laugh that's boisterous and supposed to sound slightly drunk. She closes her eyes and focuses her hearing waiting for whoever's been on her tail to make a freaking move already.

She'd felt that prickling sensation, unseen eyes that she knew were there, as soon as she'd left the library and Caroline's mood had immediately taken a dip. She exists in various states of annoyance these days and being stalked wasn't helpful. She takes the path around the back of the buildings because it's always deserted this time of night and she hasn't been much for company lately. And now some weirdo had to ruin what could have been a perfectly lovely evening stroll.

Talk about rude.

She usually sticks to blood bags, because that's what _good_ vampires do, but tonight she's willing to make an exception. If some creep's going to pick her as an easy mark Caroline's going to make sure he regrets it.

The fresh blood is just a welcome bonus of the lesson.

She holds her breath, her hair spilling down in messy waves to cover the red of her eyes and the fangs she's let out in anticipation. She'd been _sure_ someone had been watching her, that the rustling of leaves in the trees that line this pathway back to her dorm room had been caused by something other than animals or the wind.

But nothing moves, no one ambles out of the woods or speeds up the path behind her.

Ugh. Maybe her tendency to be dramatic was coming back to kick her in the ass she _was_ imagining things.

After all it's been a weird couple of weeks.

The transition to college life hadn't been as smooth as Caroline had always expected. She'd been so excited at graduation, ready to have a kickass summer and then tackle college. She'd convinced her mom to take a quick trip to the cabin with her and they'd had a great time talking and watching movies and lounging on the docks. She'd first started to feel jittery then, almost like she'd forgotten something important, had wracked her brains for what it could possibly be.

Over and over again, even when she'd known it was silly and futile.

When they'd returned home she'd scrubbed the house from top to bottom, organized and rearranged until her back ached (no small feat given her vampire status) hoping to put the feeling to rest. It was a hollowness, a thick cloud of boredom with no desire to _do_ anything about it and the certainty that anything she tried would fail. It was foreign to her and she loathed it.

Nothing had helped and her bad temper had continued to grow. She'd mostly managed to keep a lid on it, her mom's odd hours helping. Caroline could manage a sunny smile and genial chatter for the hour or so they spent together at dinner, their quick chats over coffee in the morning. Still, her performances hadn't been entirely convincing. She'd caught the worried looks her mother was shooting her, had to brush off and redirect concerned questions.

Caroline had started taking long walks, plodding through the woods that surrounded Mystic Falls trying to figure out what was wrong with her, why she couldn't seem to shake her moodiness.

She'd tried to chalk it up to the fact that she was lonely. Bonnie was gone for the summer, Tyler's return date unknown as he seemed reluctant to leave the pack he'd befriended. Elena was too wrapped up in her weird Damon _thing_ to have much time for her. Caroline had tried to get a jump on her classes, purchased her textbooks (required _and_ supplemental) but when it came time to sit down and read them her brain just wouldn't cooperate.

She was constantly restless, could barely get four hours of sleep in a night, consumed extra portions of blood and binged on Cheetos to compensate.

She'd desperately hoped that things would get better once she was settled at Whitmore and sharing a dorm with Bonnie and Elena just like she'd always planned. She'd made a point to dive into extra-curricular activities, hoping that being busy was what she'd need to feel normal again.

Her planner was packed and she was kicking ass at her classes (through the sheer force of her stubbornness) but Caroline's beginning to think that she might have to accept that she has no idea what normal is anymore.

Six weeks into her semester she's forced to admit that all the clubs she'd joined and committees she was a part of hadn't helped. She wasn't _quite_ the space case that she'd been back in Mystic Falls. Instead of the sense of _wrongness_ being overwhelming she could usually stuff it into the back of her mind, enough to function anyway. She could get through a lecture, was on top of her homework. But her sleep schedule was still a mess and she had made zero new friends. Plus, Caroline's old ones weren't big fans of her either at the moment.

Cohabitating was bound to be thorny and her fuse being extra short didn't make it any easier.

The feeling that something was off was like an itch now, instead of a pain. It remained a constant nagging irritant that she just couldn't figure out how to fix.

Maybe she was just looking for another outlet and she'd imagined the eyes she's been feeling on her all evening.

God, she was acting like a paranoid nutjob.

Caroline groans aloud, taking a calming breath and forcing her fangs away. She sits and flops back onto the grass (she's in no hurry to get back to her room, she's been snappy and extra cutting with Bonnie and Elena lately and they're really not having it anymore, not that Caroline blames them). She's tempted to scream but settles for kicking her heels into the ground for a moment, shaking her head and clenching her fists.

She's too old for tantrums but it's not like anyone else will ever know.

After a moment she relaxes with a sigh, scrubbing her hand over her face in frustration. "Maybe I've been cursed or something," she mutters. "I'll get Bonnie to check. _If_ she's still talking to me." A noise from the treeline breaks into her self-pity party and Caroline tenses, rolling over and digging her hands into the ground in case she needs to spring.

She expects a smarmy frat boy, swaggering over with his hands up like he's not a threat (which he wouldn't be, but still) even as his eyes rake her over with poorly concealed lust.

What Caroline does _not_ expect is a giant freaking wolf.

The wolf's golden in color, thickly furred and powerfully built, she notes with growing alarm. It keeps its head is down, its pace sedate, no hint of teeth or aggression visible as it pads in her direction. "What in the…"

She's just gathering herself to run when its head lifts, as if it had understood her words, meeting her gaze directly. Caroline deflates, because the tiny bit of hope she'd had that it was _just_ a wolf (its size made it unlikely but a girl could dream) – and therefore something that she could outrun – is dashed.

Of course it was a werewolf. Just her luck.

Good thing she'd never deleted Klaus' number. She'd considered it often over the summer, his words, the _weight_ of them, ringing in her mind. Her last love was a long ways off and she had a long list of things to achieve before it was something she could even begin to consider.

She'd stared at it in the darkness of her bedroom, during those nights where sleep just wouldn't come, thumb hovering over the screen and unable to make the final tap that would erase _him_ , put him out of her reach. At the time she'd been annoyed at herself, at the tiny voice that insisted she didn't _want_ to make it impossible to contact him.

Turns out that tiny voice totally had her back because it was entirely possible she was going to get chomped on tonight.

Again.

Caroline gets to her knees, holds her palms up and speaks soothingly, "Nice, wolfy. Good boy. I know we're like, mortal enemies or whatever, but I'm really not that tasty. Promise. The amount of artificial colors and flavors I've been ingesting lately is really going to screw up your digestion. Trust me."

It snorts, almost like it's amused, but doesn't halt its approach.

She stills when it gets close, breath coming out in an alarmed huff as its snout nudges at her hip. She swallows back a yelp when she sees its jaws open – because those teeth were no joke – but the wolf merely bites down on the hem of her denim jacket, tugging firmly in the direction of the woods.

Caroline swallows, and tries to sound confident, "Uh, no offense but I'm going to have to pass. I'd rather my body be found, you know? So I can have a nice funeral even if the casket will have to be closed."

It lets out another noise, this one impatient, dropping her jacket and licking her wrist. "Ew," she squeals, pulling away. "Slobber, much?"

The wolf's clamped down on her jacket again and this time it's less of a tug and more of a drag. She debates ditching it and making a run for her dorm but that seems like it'll only piss off the werewolf – not something she wants to do. Running through her options Caroline realizes she _might_ have an advantage in the woods, she knows the trails (running has been one of her attempts to cope with her never-ending ennui) and if she could just get up a tree she'd be able to call for backup.

"Okay, okay," Caroline relents and climbs to her feet. Her jacket's released and the wolf circles behind her, cold nose nudging the back of her knee. She turns and gives it her best unimpressed look, not that it garners much of a reaction, and starts walking towards the trees. "Kidnapped again. Not awesome," she grumbles. Though she has to admit that this might be her most pleasant kidnapping yet. No injuries thus far and the werewolf hasn't even growled at her.

She tries to speed up but the wolf stays on her heels. Caroline's never been herded before but she can safely say she's _not_ a fan. She recognizes the path he directs her to, knows it's one of the ones that leads to the backroad on the other side of the forest. She's taken aback, having anticipated he'd force her deeper into the woods and not towards civilization. The trees are spindlier in this direction too, unfortunately, nothing that she could scale high enough to get away from snapping teeth and claws.

Shit. She is so screwed.

She tries to stay calm, ignores the more rapid beating of her heart, knowing her best shot is to _think_. Caroline reaches into her pocket, grips her phone tightly. Maybe she'll get lucky and there will be a car she can flag down on the road. The wolf bounds ahead of her at the edge of the forest making a beeline for the large black SUV that's parked on the shoulder.

She should make a run for it but her feet won't cooperate, random pieces of information clicking rapidly into place.

She _knows_ that SUV.

She hears a sharp crack before she can say anything, followed by the crunch and squish of bone and cartilage and sinew shifting. She takes the few paces forward so she can see the transformation, just to confirm what she's begun to expect.

His transition is quicker than she'd expected, more quiet too, only a few harsh exhalations as Klaus shifts into the form she recognizes.

Well, mostly. She'd never seen him totally _naked_ before.

Except for those dreams that she pretends she doesn't have.

Her eyes drift down his back before she can think of why she shouldn't let them, lingering on the lean muscles now bare to her gaze. She finds herself noting the parts of his anatomy she'd not had the chance to peruse that long afternoon where he'd been trapped in Silas' mind game.

She should probably feel guilty but the free show was the least he could do for scaring the crap out of her.

It isn't until Klaus stands, the movement filled with grace and power, and she can't help but be a little mesmerized by the sight.

Something he clearly notices if the unbearably smug little smirk he wears is anything to go by.

She whirls before he can face her fully because she knows she wouldn't be able to resist letting her eyes drift below the belt. Caroline crosses her arms and straightens her spine biting out, "Yeah, I'm going to need you to put on some pants."

His laugh is soft but she hears him opening a door, rummaging around. The quiet jangling of a belt and the whisper of fabric follow shortly after. Her foot begins to tap without her permission, her impatience growing as questions begin to whirl. She wants to peek over her shoulder (because seriously, how long could it _take_? Pants, shirts. Easy peasy).

"I'm decent, sweetheart," he says, after an agonizingly long time.

She spins on her heel, "I highly doubt that," Caroline spits. He's got his arms lifted, fiddling with the ever present cords he wears around his neck and this time she keeps her eyes trained firmly on his face and _not_ on any lifting his shirt may or may not be doing.

Klaus grins, amused. "Perhaps you've a point."

Her eyes narrow as she takes in his complete ease. It just wasn't fair. " _Decent_ people don't scare other people out of their minds by being a creepy stalking giant ball of furry death, Klaus."

He sobers, if only slightly. "I apologize if I scared you. It wasn't my intention. I didn't mean…" he trails off and it might be the first time Caroline's ever seen him stop to consider his words.

"You didn't mean _what_?" she presses. "What are you even _doing_ here? New Orleans sounded pretty freaking great when you described it. Did you piss everyone off and get kicked out or what?"

His eyes light up, "Ah so you did get my message. I'd wondered."

She hopes it's dark enough that Klaus can't see her face because she knows it's possible she's blushing a bit. She'd listened to his message more times than she'd ever admit, had a hard time tamping down the wants and curiosities his words brought out in her.

There was plenty of time to explore the world, she had told herself. Her mother only had a finite number of years and the least Caroline could do was get a college diploma her mom could brag about around the Sheriff's office before Caroline had to go off the grid with her never aging face.

Klaus continues, leaning back against his SUV, not waiting for her to reply. "And while I wouldn't say I was kicked out of New Orleans there were several people who were most displeased with my behavior."

"Did you try to murder them? Because that's not the way to make friends and influence people, Klaus."

He hums, lips quirking up in a smile, "Debatable, love. However as a matter of fact I did not. I merely got a bit… moody."

"You?" Caroline gasps in mock surprise, laying her hand over her heart, "Well I _never_."

He sighs in exasperation but it's playful, pushing away from the vehicle and walking towards her. "After one particularly rousing fight Rebekah told me that if I didn't get out of her sight she and Elijah would team up, find a witch, and smother me in my sleep. Repeatedly."

Caroline shrugs, "You kinda have something like that coming, don't you think? Given the whole dagger thing."

"She found those. Unfortunately. Hid them impressively well. Leaving me no other option but to retreat from the house."

"And what, you came here? That's an awfully long walk."

"Not directly. This was nearly a month ago. I headed out to the Bayou, turned, wondering if some time as a wolf would help my temperament."

"And did it?" Caroline asks, her interest piqued, wondering where this story was going.

"I never got a chance to find out. I couldn't turn back. I tried for hours but I was stuck."

Her brows furrow, "But you just…"

He shakes his head, "I went back to the house once I realized that something was amiss. Had a great deal of difficulty communicating my dilemma to Elijah, as I'm sure you can imagine. Eventually, he got the gist of it, found a witch."

"And the witch turned you back?"

"If only it were that easy," Klaus says, the twist of his lips wry.

She's about to ask what exactly _that_ means but he steps a little closer, reaching out and wrapping his fingers around her wrist. It's gentle, something she feels like she can break if she needs to though she has no immediate urge to pull away. Quite the opposite, in fact. Caroline finds she's tempted to touch him _back,_ her fingers twitching as she fights the urge, but that's crazy, right?

Her questions stick in her throat when his thumb flutters over her pulse point, her eyes widening in shock at the jolt of warmth it sends up her arm. When he speaks again it's quieter, with a hesitance that's uncharacteristic, but he's close enough that she doesn't need to strain. "What do you know about mates, Caroline?"

"Mates," she repeats slowly. "I know it's about the least sexy word for significant other there is. And that Dawson's Creek made it totally gross. Just because a boy thinks he's your soulmate doesn't mean he owns your hymen."

He's still touching her, and she still doesn't mind, his face relaxed and filled with a fondness that's hard for her to look away from. "In terms of werewolves, love. It's old lore, something I myself discounted so it's reasonable that you're unfamiliar with the stories."

"Werewolves have _mates_?" He's right, she's never heard that and it seems ludicrous. Werewolves are rare, their territories spread out. Seems like a recipe for inbreeding and that's not helpful for a species.

"Apparently. Often not another wolf and finding one's mate is rare."

"Huh," Caroline murmurs, still turning it over. "Thanks for the fun fact."

Klaus' shows no offense at her disbelief, "I was skeptical too. But the witch insisted, even under Rebekah's very dire threats, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to try her suggestion. Reasoned that I could always find someone more competent later on."

"Okay," Caroline drawls, knowing she's missing _something_ from Klaus' expectant gaze. "So what happened next?"

"We drove to Whitmore. I weathered Elijah's incessant complaints about the fur on his upholstery. We parked outside your dorm room and I was finally able to change back."

Her jaw drops as the implication sinks in, a staccato burst of laughter spilling from her. Klaus doesn't even flinch, eyes knowing and patient. "You're saying that I'm…"

"Tell me, Caroline, did you feel _off_ this summer? Prickly and not quite yourself?"

How could he know that? "I…" she splutters for a moment, "I was just adjusting, you know? Things haven't exactly been sunshine and rainbows for me. I'm not… I can't be…"

Again, Klaus seems to choose his words carefully, and they come out measured. "My sources tell me Tyler hasn't returned. That he's met a lovely young werewolf in his travels and seems loathe to leave Carson City."

"That," Caroline snaps, tugging her arm away from him, "is none of your business."

Klaus holds up his hands, dips his head in contrition, "Apologies. But I wonder if you've missed him like you used to. Or has it changed, grown more distant? Do you miss your friend, Caroline? Or your lover?"

A small thread of alarm grows in Caroline at his too accurate words. "How do you know that?" she hisses.

"Call it a hunch. And you've not taken up with any of the college boys who seek you out to distract yourself, you've not been drowning your sorrows."

She throws her hands up. Discussing her alarmingly non-existent libido is crossing a major line. "Okay, seriously. How long have you been stalking me? That's not okay, Klaus."

Klaus' eyes flash gold, a hint of temper in the set of his jaw, "I had little choice, Caroline. I have no desire to live as a wolf indefinitely. I'd not have disturbed you, I _haven't_ disturbed you. Being geographically close to you eased the worst of my symptoms, yours as well from what I've gleaned so I was content to wait, at least until our states worsened. But tonight I couldn't help myself. The pull to you was stronger in my wolf form than I had anticipated and I couldn't resist it."

She digests that, studying him warily, "Just how long have you been here?"

"I arrived your first week. Do you remember anything special happening? I'd wager that's right around the time your irritability became a little more manageable."

She keeps her face blank even as the truth of his words sinks in. If she'd remained in as deep a funk as she'd been in over the summer she'd probably be homeless and have done major damage to her GPA by now. That first week Bonnie and Elena had been alarmingly close to joining forces and snapping her neck just to get some peace, Caroline knew. It was only the easing of the varied extreme moods she'd been experiencing that had led them to back off. At the time she hadn't put much thought into the change, just relieved she was functioning at a reasonable level once more. Klaus was right about the timing and Caroline's mind whirled with _why_ that could be.

"So you're saying I felt better because you were around. Because I'm your…" she can't say it. It seems too crazy.

Klaus has no such issue, the word spilling out crisp and firm, "Mate. Precisely. Proximity eases the worst of the symptoms though you'll still be off unless we have regular contact."

"Contact," Caroline repeats, slightly dubious.

Klaus watches her carefully, eases back into her space. He skims his fingertips up her arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake, and she fights a shiver. She shouldn't _want_ him to touch her but she body aches for more now that he is. His palm settles on her neck, slipping under her hair to cup her nape. She knots her hands in her skirt to keep from reaching out to him, thanks her lucky stars her bra has a molded cup. "Physical contact," Klaus elaborates, low and with an edge of roughness that has her stomach clenching.

She takes a shaky breath, tries to gather her splintering thoughts. "You're insane. I can't…"

"What do you feel right now, Caroline?"

She shakes her head, swallows down her answer. She feels good, comfortable. Sorely tempted to step into him and press her face against his throat and let his warmth sink into her skin. She feels, Caroline realizes, better than she has in a _really_ long time

Klaus takes her other hand with his free one, tangling their fingers together. She squeezes without meaning to. "I know this isn't something you'd planned for, Caroline. And I truly meant to stay away. But I couldn't."

She can't think, not with the way he's touching her.

Caroline grits her teeth and takes a giant step back, shivering for an entirely different and unpleasant reason. Cold seeps in, the return of that prickling uncomfortableness she's come to know. Klaus' body goes taut, his stance widening as he fights to stay still and not follow her. She takes a deep breath, "I'm not sure I buy this."

His snort is derisive, "Your body tells a different story."

Caroline shoots him a quelling look, "I admit you've made some sense and some of your arguments are… persuasive. But I need to think. And do some research."

He looks like he's about to protest but she cuts him off quickly, " _You've_ had time to think this through. I get the same."

His expression conveys his displeasure but he nods, a short jerk, and his eyes never leave her face. She takes a step back, "I'll call you. When I'm ready."

Klaus' makes a soft noise of assent. "Fine," he replies. "I'll be waiting." She offers him a wave as she leaves, his words playing on a loop as she gets back on the path in the woods.

It was probably a bad sign that she found them comforting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Everywhere With You (Part Two)**

**(Prompt: Soulmate AU + Sleep Intimacy. Rated T. A follow up to Everywhere With You which is found in Chapter 79)**

When he hears the crunch of tires on gravel, Klaus makes a sharp turn, heading for the stairs. He's been wandering his home aimlessly, almost welcomes the interruption. He briefly considers taking a detour to his room for a shirt but decides against it

It's possible he'd just be ruining it so why bother?

Klaus hopes his visitor is trouble, someone he can hurt. Perhaps Caroline had finally informed The Salvatores he'd returned and they've come to huff and puff and attempt to intimidate him. That could be amusing. Caroline's more fond of Stefan so Klaus will leave him be. Damon, however, he can probably get away with maiming.

It's been twenty days since he'd left Caroline at Whitmore and he's only had himself for company. Elijah had gone back to New Orleans as soon as they'd been sure Klaus could maintain his human form, with strict instructions to visit the witch who'd advised them and check that she'd not breathed a word of Klaus' predicament.

To then do everything necessary to guarantee that she never could.

It's not the longest stretch of solitude he's ever endured, far from it, but the circumstances have made it challenging. The first day Klaus had felt better that he had since he'd first left Mystic Falls, clear headed and able to concentrate. He'd plowed through a number of emails and reports - business and property matters Elijah had been nagging him about, only fair since his brother was keeping things tidy for him - and then shut himself up in his studio.

Had managed to produce work he didn't hate for the first time in ages.

His ease had only lasted a few days, had begun to leach away until he was once more restless and easily aggravated.

He'd have to order another dining room set, the last one was now little more than kindling. All because Klaus had gotten a splinter.

He's been told Caroline's not faring better. He's got guards stationed near her, tasked with ensuring she stays safe and that no one else is watching her. He won't have her hurt to get at him. His people report that she's going to class, then back to her dorm, that she looks tired and unhappy.

Klaus doesn't receive the news gladly, but there's a grim sort of satisfaction to the knowledge that he's not suffering alone.

The impulse to go to her has become a steady pulse, a knot of pressure that rests heavy at the base of his skull, impossible to ignore. His skin feels tight, irritated, and he can't seem to shake off the tension in his body. He thinks the all over ache will become genuine pain soon.

When it does Klaus will grit his teeth and bear it. Caroline will have to come to him. That resolve is why Klaus hasn't turned. His wolf is harder to control, less reason more instinct, and he'd be loping off to Whitmore as soon as his paws touched the earth if he gave into the urge to transform.

Reaching the main floor, he doesn't bother with lights, Klaus stalks across the foyer. He's been pacing the house for days, could navigate around the furniture even without his enchanted senses.

He'd heard the vehicle roll to a stop. Its engine had been cut but there had been no metal creaking to indicate a door opening, no footsteps either. His visitor seems to be hesitating. Klaus stands poised by the door, listening carefully for movement, ready to spring.

His phone buzzes in his back pocket and Klaus deflates, his fangs retracting, hybrid features smoothing.

If his guest is calling ahead it would be bad form to kill them. He only hopes he's not being roped into some disaster. Klaus really doesn't have the patience to wade into whatever peril Mystic Falls is facing this week. He knows Caroline is perfectly safe, her mother too. Her useless friends aren't his concern.

He's shocked when he sees that Caroline's texting him, thrilled to realize she's only a few steps away.

**Caroline (1:46 AM):** _It occurs to me that you might deal with late night visitors creeping up to your house violently._

**Caroline (1:46 AM):**   _So don't this time, okay?_

 **Caroline (1:46 AM):**   _Midterms start Monday._

He hears her car door open and Klaus' control frays. He's flinging his front door open and bounding down the steps before he can marshal it. He forces himself to still at the bottom, rocking back on his heels and grinding his bare feet into the stones of the driveway to center himself. The urge to go right to her, to press his skin to hers, is nearly overwhelming. Coming on to strong could very well backfire.

He needs her to come just a little farther.

Caroline leans back against her car, shutting the driver's side door. Her arms are crossed, banded tightly against her stomach and she's looking at the ground. Klaus takes the opportunity to study her and what he sees makes him ache a little more.

He wants to touch her, now not  _just_  to soothe his own discomfort. Caroline's too pale, her eyes visibly shadowed even in the dim moonlight. Her hair's pulled haphazardly back from her face and she wears an oversized sweatshirt, ragged at the cuffs and hem, and not a speck of makeup.

She looks older than she should, exhausted and confused, and Klaus loathes that he's the cause even if he wouldn't change their connection for anything.

She glances up at him, takes a faltering step forward. "I… I don't know…" she trails off helplessly, her hand extended towards him.

That she'd come here, of her own volition, will have to be enough of a balm to his pride, he decides. Klaus closes the distance between them, until her hand presses to his chest. Caroline's fingers twitch at the skin to skin contact but she doesn't push him away. He moves slowly, lifting his hand and resting it on the back of her neck, his thumb brushing her jaw.

Caroline's spine loosens, her lashes fluttering as a sigh gusts from her parted lips. She drifts another step closer, pressing her other hand to him. "Huh. I was kinda hoping last time was a fluke."

He ruthlessly tamps down a flare of anger. It won't do to chase her away, not when she's finally talked herself into coming to him. Klaus knows her presence is only temporary, assumes she's treating him like a fix, the midterms she'd mentioned looming.

Klaus can work with that.

"Sadly, this is not a brilliant plan to get closer to you, sweetheart. We're mates, there are side effects. There's little we can do to change them. I trust you've had a rough few weeks?"

Her eyes narrow, the fingers of her right hand curling until he feels the edge of her nails. The left remains a steady pressure over his heart, negating the threat somewhat. "Try to sound less pleased about my misery, okay?"

"It was entirely of your own choosing," Klaus reminds her.

Her face falls, settling into tired lines, "Can we just… not?" she asks, sounding weary. "I didn't come here to fight with you."

"Why did you come, Caroline?"

She closes her eyes, shoulders slumping. "I haven't slept, like at all, in four days. I haven't slept properly in… god, I don't even remember."

"Fifteen or sixteen days, I'd wager." He says it gently, brings his free hand up to cover hers, to press it more firmly to his chest. He doesn't sleep much as it is, a habit ingrained over centuries on the run, so the lack of rest isn't as much of a hardship to him. Caroline likely still keeps to human rhythms.

She nods, swaying on her feet. "I still don't get whatever… this is. Bonnie's trying to track down her mom for me, to see if she can find anyone who knows something, but she's not having much luck. I've been trying so hard to stick to my routine and I just can't anymore. Every muscle in my body aches and my textbooks don't make sense and my notes from all my classes are crap and…"

Her breathing is coming quickly, her heart racing, and Klaus applies just the smallest hint of pressure, his hand on her nape to welcome her closer. It's all the urging Caroline needs. With a heavy exhalation she moulds herself to him, arms wrapping around his body until her hands dig greedily into the muscles of his back. Her flushed cheek comes to rest on his shoulder, her face pressed into his throat. Klaus winds one hand into her hair, the other slipping under her shirt to rest on her curve of her waist.

She hums softly, her stiffness easing until her rests heavily against him. He moves his hand tentatively, stroking along her side, and Caroline doesn't protest. "I've had every book that even mentions mates sent to me here," Klaus murmurs. "You can take some back to school with you."

Caroline agrees with a small sound, but makes no move to leave his embrace. She speaks so softly he might not have heard her if he wasn't a hybrid, "Can I sleep here tonight? I don't think I can drive home."

"With me?" Klaus asks, needing the clarification.

He can feel her face heat; hear the slight hitch of her inhale. "Yes," she finally manages, the word muffled in his skin.

His grip on her tightens but she misses his reaction, caught up in her own turmoil and drowsing as she is. Just as well. His elation is likely inappropriate. "Of course, sweetheart."

She makes a small noise of protest when he pulls away but Klaus maintains contact, bringing the hand he has on her side rest on the small of her back and guiding her to the steps. "Wait, I brought my books," Caroline mutters, stopping once they've crossed the threshold.

Well, that's certainly an interesting revelation. Klaus makes a note to bring it up when Caroline's more coherent. She wouldn't find him pressing her when she's like this, so unguarded, endearing.

He sees no need to handicap himself, not when it seems like he's managed to make progress.

"They'll be fine in your car for the night," Klaus assures her.

Caroline relents, stepping out of her shoes. "Yeah, I guess breaking into the sheriff's daughter's car outside of the local serial killer's house would be pretty dumb."

"Technically," he points out mildly, "there are many local serial killers."

Caroline laughs softly but she doesn't argue and he steers them towards the stairs. She leans more of her weight on him as they make their way upstairs, seems half asleep by the time they reach his bed. He eases her down, until she's sitting, tugs at the bottom of her sweatshirt, "Are you wearing anything under this?"

"Tank…" a yawn has her mouth opening wide and she shudders with the force of it. "Top," she finishes. She reaches down and begins to pull it off. Klaus helps when it gets stuck halfway, pushing her arms up so he can get it the rest of the way off. She swings her legs up, when he turns down the blankets, her hand grabbing his forearm and towing him after her.

Klaus can't resist teasing her, "Pulling me into bed? My, my, what a turn of events."

"Shut up," Caroline grouses. "I'm committed now."

"To a good night's sleep?" Klaus asks. He receives no reply and he's not sure if Caroline's ignoring him or if she hadn't heard him, too busy getting comfortable and luxuriating in the physical contact she's been craving. She rolls to her side, dragging Klaus with her (he goes willingly, of course) until he's curled around her, his forehead resting on the back of her shoulder. Caroline gropes for his hand and leads it under the flimsy shirt she wears, presses it to her bare stomach with a sigh he thinks is contentment.

She's soon soft against him, sleeping deeply. Klaus feels his own eyes drooping, his body sinking into the bed, with some surprise. He fights it for as long as he can, wanting to store this experience. He wants to be able to recall the texture of Caroline's skin, the scent of her hair. To learn the little movements and sounds she makes as she sleeps.

He'll need the memories, he's sure. Caroline's committed to this night, to quieting her brain so she can conquer her coursework. He's not sure what tomorrow will bring though Klaus suspects he can coax her into spending the day.

There's a plush sofa in his studio, under a window. If she studies there while he paints, her powers of concentration will be at their peak.

At least that's the hypothesis he'll present tomorrow.


End file.
